Driving mechanism for planer-platens.



J. H. B. BRYAN.

DRIVING MECHANISM POR LANER PLATENS.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 18, 1906. 'i

Patented A111220, 1909.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

www //////Z J. H.' B. BRYAN. DRIVING MEGHANIS'M FOR PLANER PLATENS.

APPLIOATION FILED JUNE 18, 1906.

UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

JOHN H. B. BRYAN, OF BUFFALO, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR T0 NILES-BEMENT-PONDCOMPANY,

' OF JERSEYl CITY, NEW JERSEY.

Specification of Letters Patent.

'Patented April 2o, 1909.

`Application led June 18, 1906. Serial No. 322,184.

l'o all 'wilma it may concern:

Bc it known that I, JOHN .l-I. B. BRYAN, a citizen ol the vUnitedStates, residing at Buffalo, in the county of .Erie and State of NewYork, have invented a new and useful Imurovement in Driving Mechanismfor Planerllatens, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a driving mechanism for the platens of planersand more particularly to a driving mechanism embodying a lpneumaticallyoperated clutch mechanism w iereby the movement of the planer platen isreversed at the end of its stroke in both directions. The pneumaticclutch mechanisms heretofore used for this urpose were faulty becausethey permittedP reversing of the driving mechanism to be effected underthe full pressure of the air which caused breakage of the drivingmechanism when the air was used under high pressure or permittedslipping of the clutches and consequently pro uced uncertain movement ofthe platen when the air wasused under comparatively low pressure.

One of the objects of this invention is to provide pneumatic means foroperating the clutches of a planer platen driving mechanism whichpermits air under high pressure to be used for moving the platenreliably during the main the air pressure while reversing the movementof the platen and thus avoids the objectionable results mentioned above.y

My invention has the furthercbjects to improve the driving mechanism ofthe'splaten in several details. v

In the accompanying drawings consisting of 2 sheets: Figure 1 is a sideelevation of a planer having its platen operated by my improved drivingmechanism. Fig. 2 is a top' plan viewthereof partly in section. Fig. 3is a longitudinal section, on an enlarged scale, of the air reversinvalve. Fig. 4`is a similar view of one of t e branch alr pipes togetherwith its check valve and by-pass. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary longitudinalsection, on an enlarged scale, showing the pneumatic clutches and theparts operatively connected therewith. Fig. 6 is asimilar view, on anenlarged scale, showing art of the air conneet-ions of the pneumaticclutches. Fig. 7 is a transverse section in line 7,-7, .Fig 6. Fig. 8 isa horizontal section of one of the oil art of its stroke in bothdirections but re uces the effectiveness of which meshes with a gearwhee catchers, separators or traps arranged in the branch air ipes. Fig.9 1s a vertical cross section of t e same in line 9 9, Fig. 8.

Similar letters of reference indicate corresponding parts throughout theseveral views.

The laner shown in the drawings for illustratlng the application of myimproved platen driving mechanism consists essentially of a bed A, ahorizontally reciprocatin platen or table B guided on the bed and adated to carry the article to be planed, a too holder C sup orted abovethe platen by means of standar s c and carrying the tool d whichoperates upon the article to be planed, a main gear or bull wheel Emounted on the bed and meshing with a gear rack e on the underside ofthe platen and a driving shaft F journaled transversely on the bed andprovided With a gear pinion f which meshes with the bull' wheel.

The laten may be driven by any suitable motor ut preferably by anelectric motor G, as shown in the drawin s. The gearing and pneumaticreversing c'utches whereby the movement of this motor istransmitted tothe driving shaft F of the platen may be variously constructed, thatshown in the drawin s, as an example, bein fo ows: H represents a c utchshaft connected at one end by intermeshing beveled gear wheels h withthe adjacent end of the platen driving shaft F. I, Il two cylindricalclutch barrels mounted loosely side by side on the clutch shaft andhaving their open inner ends facing each other. J represents a countershaft arran ed parallel to the clutch shaft and provide w1th a gearWheel j jl secured to the clutch barrel I. K'represents an intermediategear wheel meshing on opposite sides with the gear Wheel on the countershaft and a gear pinion con the motor shaft, as shown in liig. 5. Llrepresents an intermediate shaft arran ed parallel with the counter andclutch s afts and provided at one end with a pinion l which meshes witha gear wheel l1 secured to the other clutch barrel I! while its op ositeend is provided with a gear Wheel rrnl W ich meshes with the gear wheelM on the corresponding end of the countershaft. vThe motion of thecountershaft which rotates continuously in the same constructed as urnedZ, Z1 operate to turn the other clutch barrel I1 in the oppositedirection. During the normal operation of the laner the clutch shaft isconnected alternate y with the clutch barrels, whereby the clutch shaftis rotated alternately in opposite directions and the platen isreclprocated. N represents a clutch sleeve secured to the central partof the clutch shaft so as to practically form a art thereof andprojectlng with its ends into the clutch barrels. 0 represents two setsof driving clutch rings or disks arranged in the clutch barrels andconnectedtherewith by splines so as to be capable of axial movementrelatively thereto but compelled to rotate therewith. o1 represents twosets of driven clutch disks or rings mounted on the ends of the clutchsleeve and connected therewith by s lines which compel the driven diskto turn with the clutch sleeve and shaft but permit them to move axiallyrelatively thereto. Eachset' of driven disks alternate with the drivingdisks of one set of disks so that u on-pressing together lengthwise theseveralpdisks of two cooperating sets of driving and driven disks theclutch barrel carrying the respective set of driving disks will be couled with the clutch shaft. P represents a s ifting cylinder arrangedbetween the outermost clutch disks of the two clutches and having theheads p, p1 at its opposite ends mounted on the central. art of theclutch sleeve so as to be capab e of sliding lengthwise thereon buthaving an air tight 35. joint between the same and the clutch sleeve.

p2 represents a piston or abutment arranged on the central part of theclutch sleeve and bearing with its periphery against the bore of theshifting cylinder. U on admitting compressed air into the shiftingcylinder bep and the piston p2 the shifting cylinder will be movedlengthwise toward the clutch barrel I and cause the several clutch diskswithin the same to be pressed against each other, thereby formin afrietional coupling between said clutc barrel and the clutch shaft andcausing the platen to be moved in one direction. Upon admitting air intothe shifting cylinder between its head 1 and the iston p2 the shiftingcylinder wil be move lengthwise in the o posite direction and cause theseveral isks within the clutch barrel Il to be pressed together, therebyfrictionally couplin the clutch shaft with the clutch barrel 1 andcausing the platen to be moved in the opposite direction.

The means whereby the air is alternately admitted to and exhausted fromopposite ends of the shifting cylinder are constructed as follows: Qrepresents a stationary air box mounted on a reduced extension H1 at thefront end of the clutch shaft and secured by bolts or otherwise to theadjacent bearing of the clutch shaft so that this shaft turns in saidbox.

In the central part of the bore of this air box the same is rovided withan annular air chamber or en ar ement which surrounds the extension of te clutc shaft and is connected with an air branch pipe or conduit Rwhich conducts pressed air to and from this chamber. The central part ofthe clutch shaft extension is bored out to form an air chamber S whichcommunicates by one or more radial passages s in the shaft extensionwith the air chamber g. From the chamber S to a point adjacent to thepiston p2 the clutch shaft is bored out to form an axial conduit o rpassage s1 which is connected near its inner end with the s )ace in theshifting cylinder between its head p and the piston b r means of alateral passage s2 formed part y in the clutch shaft and the surroundingclutch sleeve. Air tight joints are produced between the shaft extensionH1 and the bore of the air box on opposite sides of its air chamber bymeans of two packing devices each of which preferably consists of an Lshaped packing ring of leather, felt or similar material having an innercylindrical portion t which embraces the adjacent peripheral portion ofthe shaft extension, a radial flange t1 projecting outwardly from theouter edge of the cylindrical part t and bearing with its inner sideagainst av shoulder t2 on the air box, a clamping ring t3 bearingagainst the outer side of said radial flange, bolts t4 connecting saidclamping ring and air box and passing through said radial'fiange and asplit retaining ring t5 arranged in an enlargement of the bore of theair box and bearing inwardly against the outer side of the cylindricalportion of the packing ring, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The air entersbetween the bore of the air box and the outer side of the cylindricalflanges t of the packing rings and presses these flanges against theperi hery of the shaft extension H1, thereby e ectually preventingleakage of air at these points. U represents a central air pipe orconduit arranged axially within the conduit s1 and chamber S of theclutch shaft and its extension and projecting at its outer end into anopening u formed in the outer wall of the air chamber of the shaftextension. The outer diameter of this central pipe is smaller than thebore of the conduit s so as to leave an annular space around the centralpipe for the passage of air, At its inner end the central pipe U istapered and bears against a correspondingly shaped shoulder formed byreducing the inner end of the bore or conduit s1. At its outer end thecentral )ipe communicates with a tubular plug u1 which is screwed intothe outer end of the shaft extension. The outer end of said central pipeis tapered and bears against a correspondingly shaped shoulder on theinner end of the plug '11,1 to form an air tight "oint between theseparts. lonim'unicatiomis established between the inner end of thecentral pipe U and the shiftingcylinder between its head 77* and thepiston by a passage a2 formed partly in the clutch shaft andV thc clutchsleeve, as shown in `Fig. 5 Air is conducted to and from the central pie U by means of a branch air pipe fw wli the central )ipc so that thclatter is free to rotate together with the clutch shaft withoutdisturbing the air connection between the central 'pipe and the'branchpipe w. The preferred form of joint for this purpose bctween these partsconsi ts in arranging the end portion of thebrandh air ipe fw axiallywithin the outer part ofthe p ug u* so that its passageway or borecommunicates with the bore of the opening or passage a2 leading to thecentral pipe and producing an air tight joint between thislend of thepipe and the plug by means of a head w arranged at the inner end of thebranch pipe w and bearing on its inner 'side against a ackingu3 restinglagainst an internal shoul er on the` 5 plug, a plurality of packingrings 'L02 surrounding the branchpipe w within the bore of the plug andbearing against the outer side of its head, a follower sleeve. 'w3surrounding the branch pipe within the bore of the plug and bearingagainst the outermost packing ring, and a gland 'L04 having a screwconnection with the outer end of the plug and bearing against the outerend of the follower, as shown in Fig. 6. i

The valve mechanism whereby the com pressed air is alternately admittedto the conduits or branch pi )es It, w leading to opposite ends of the sii'ting cylinder is best shown in Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 and is constructedas i'ollows: X represents an air chest which is connected on one sidewith a compressed air supply pipe c while another side thereof isprovided centrally with an exhaust port m1 leading to the atmosphere andon opposite sides of said exhaust port with two distributing ports x2,x3 which communicate with the branch pipes w, 't respectively. x4represents a slide valve arranged in the air chest and provided on itsunder side with a cavity :c5 whereby upon sliding this valve to the endlof its movement in one direction one oi' lthe distributing ports willbe uncovered and laced in communication with the air supp y pipe i'ordelivering com ressed air to one en of the shifting cylin er while theother distributing port is cut off from the air sup ly pipe andconnected by the cavity xi wit the exhaust port to ermit the spent airto escape from the opposite end of the shift- 0 ing cylinder. The slidevalve is reciprocated for alternately connecting the distributing portswith the air supply and the exhaust by means of a valve orslide rod xconnecting with the slide valve and passing through a stufling 66 box inthe air chest, a rock shaft :1:7 mounted ich is connected withl movingheavy loads.

on the planer bed and having a depending,` arm nt which is connected byn. link ai with the valve rod and two tapgifls 11'", ai projectingupwardly l'rom said rock shalt and adapted tube engaged alternately hyshoulders or trip blocks .'r'z, :ci' on the platen. ly this meanstherock shalt u, is turned alternatcly in opposite direi-,tions atopposite ends ol' the reciprocating'movement ol' the platen yand thuscauses the air connections between the supply pipe and the shiftingcylinder to be reversed intermittently l'or producing "the reciprocatingmovement ol' the platen. lt has been 'l'ound in practice that il' thespent or dead air is permitted to escape freely vl'rom the inoperativeend ol' th(` shifting cylinder while compressed or live air is beingadmitted into the opposite end oll this cylinder the release of oneclutch and the tightening of the other is effected too suddenly causingl'rcquent stripping ol the gear teeth and breakage ol' other parts ol'the transmitting gearing. This is particularly liable to happen when airunder high )ressure is used -for .t has been attempted to overcome thisdifficulty by reducing the air pressure to such a point that the suddenreversal oi' the clutches will not injuriously affect thetransmittingmechanism but this is objectionable inasmuch as air whensupplied at low pressurel will not couple the clutch firmly but permitslippage oi the same particularly during the cutting stroke at whichtime the movement oi the platen is uncertain and irregular and liable tobe sto ped and also causes chattering of the too thereby producing anon-uniform cut.

In order to permit of utilizing the air under high pressure forpositively and reliably moving the platen and the article mountedthereon and at the same time prevent sudden reversal of the clutchmechanism, means are rovided vfor permitting the compressed or live airto flow forward freely and unrestricted through the branch pipes forcoupling the gripping members of the respective clutches and to restrictor ret-ard the return flow or A exhaust ofthe spent or dead air throughsaid branch pipe so as to operate like a dash pot orn air cushion whichresists sudden move nient of the shifting cylinder in the operativedirection under'thc force of the live air. Various means may be employedfor producing this effect the means shown -in the ,drawings serving asan example and being constructed as follows: Y represents the casings ofcheck valves arranged in the branch'air pipes and each provided with avalve 'y which is moved from its s eat while the pressure of the air inmoving forwardly through the branch pipe from the supply to therespective end of the shifting cylinder but is closed either by themovement of the returning spent air, by gravity or by means of a spring.Each of the branch pipes is proshifting cyhn vided with a by-pass orpipe y* which is connected at its opposite 'ends with the res ective-branch pipe on opposite sides o its check valve, as shown 1n Figs. 1, 2Aand 4.

Each of the by-passes or pipes `contains ay valve y2 whereby thecapacity of the by-pass may be restricted more or less as may benecessary. The compressed liye air opens the check valve wide and owsfreely through the branch-.pipe ofn its wa to one end of the er o duringthe return movement of-this air when spent the check valve closes sothat its onl exit is through the restricted by-pass whic causes theescape of the spent a1r to be retarded. The. uncoupling of one clutchand the cou ling of the other is thus effected gradual y causing themovement .of the platen to be reversed without any injurious shock butwhen the reversal has been completed the full ressu're of the air isavailable for firmly coup ing the operative clutch and causes the platento be moved forward positively and uniformly during the cutting`operation as well as during the return or idle stroke of these parts.vFor the lpurpose of reducing the force of the compressed air as it maybe necessary to suit the particular work in hand a reduclng valve X1 ofany suitable construction is arranged in the main supply 1 e. grgferablyarranged in thI main air pipe between the reducing valve and the airchest of the reversible valve. This tank stores a quantity of thecompressed air 'at' the re-v sent-s a separating chamber which isarranged substantially horizontal in the -direction of its lengthandprovided in its bottom with a draw-off valve or pet cock z. Within thischamber are arranged two nipples or nozzles 21, z2 which are connectedwith the sections of the branch pipe on opposite sides of the sepavrator and which extend horizontally in'oppo site directions throughopposite heads ofthe chamber and terminate each with its open inner endshort ofthe head through which the other nozzle passes, asshown in Fig.8. By this means the air leaving the end of one nozzle and passingthrough the chamber into theend of the other nozzle is compelled to makea sharp turn, whereby any particles of oil and dirt contained in thesame are permitted to separate therefrom by gravity and r coup ing oneclutch but A pressure equalization tank X2 is also massa 'drop into thebottom ofthe chamber. The

oil accumulating in the bottom ofthe chamber may be drawn off from ltimeto time by o ening the valve z. By thus separating the ofrom the air asthe same passes through the branch pipes 'the vmain or reversing valveand other arts cannot become gummed by this oil andp it also preventsany grit and dirt which is carried away from the lubricated surfaces bythe oil from reaching the reversing valve and other parts and wearingthe same rapidly. 4

I claim as my invention:

4 1. A driving mechanism for Iplaner platens comprising two pneumatic cutches which are constructed to move the platen in opposite directions,a main air supply pipe, two branch pipes or conduits connecting withsaid clutches, a reversing valve for connecting each branch pipe orconduit either with the main air supply pipe or with an exhaust, andmeans constructed to permit the air to Yflow freely forward through saidbranch pipes or conduits but retard the -backward ow of the air throughthe latter, substantially as set forth.

2.v A driving mechanism for laner platens comprising two pneumatic cutches which,

are constructed to move the platen in oppo- .site directions, a main airor supply pipe, two

branch pipes or conduits connecting with said clutches, a reversingvalve for connecting each branch ipe or conduit either with the main airsupp y pipe or with an exhaust, and means constructed to permit the airto flow freely forward through said branch ipes or conduits but retardthe backward each branch pipe and a restricted by-pass connected withsaid branch pipe on opposite 'sides of its check valve, substantially asset forth.

ow of the air through the same, consistin of 7a forwardly opening checkvalve arrange in 3. Adriving mechanism for laner platens comprising twopneumatic c utches which are constructed to move the platen in oppositedirections, a main air supply pipe, two branch pipes or conduitsconnecting with said clutches, a reversing valve for connecting eachbranch pipe or conduit either with the main air supply pipe or with anexhaust, and means constructed to permit the-air to flow freely forwardthrough said branch pipes or conduits but retard the backward flow ofthe air through the same consistin of a forwardly opening'check valvearrange in each branch pipe, a by-pass connected at opposite endswith'said branch pipe on opposite sides of its check valve, and aregulating valve arranged in each by-pass, substantially as set forth.

4. A driving mechanism for planer platens comprising two pneumaticclutches cons tructed to move the platen in opposite directions, two airpipes each of vwhich carries the air to and from one of said clutches,and an oil separator arranged in each of said pipes, substantially asset forth.

5. A driving mechanism for planer platens comprising two pneumaticclutches constructed to move the platen in opposite directions, two airpipes each of which carries the air to and from one of said clutches,and an oil separator arranged in each of said pipes, and consisting of achamber, and two nozzles connected with sections of the air pipe andextending horizontally in opposite directions through the ends of thechambers and each nozzle terminating at its open inner end short of thatend of the chamber through which the other nozzle passes, substantiallyas set forth.

6. A driving mechanism for planer platens comprising two pneumaticclutches constructed to move the platen in opposite directions, twobranch air pipes each of Which carries the air to and from one of saidclutches, a main air supply pipe, a reversing valve for connecting eachof said branch pipes either with the main supply pipe or with anexhaust, a ressure reducing valve arranged in the main pipe, and apressure equalizing tank arranged in the main pipe between the reduc-invalve and the reversing valve, substantia ly as set forth.

Witness my hand this 11th day of June,

` JOHN H. B. BRYAN.

Witnesses:

THEO. L. PoPP,

E. M. GRAHAM.

